In its first bottling, the single vineyard, single variety 2016 Marsanne is gaining high praise. In addition to this Silver Medal at TEXSOM IWA, the Rhone-style wine, made with grapes grown in the estate High Valley Vineyard in San Saba County, was recently recognized with a Double Gold, Class Champion and Texas Class Champion at the 2018 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo International Wine Competition. It also won awards at the 2017 San Francisco International Wine Competition and the 2017 Lone Star International Wine Competition earlier this year. The versatile and food-friendly Marsanne has lively Meyer lemon and roasted almonds flavors, rich, mineral texture and creamy vanilla finish.

The Wedding Oak Winery 2015 Tempranillo Reserva is made with grapes were grown at Mirasol Vineyard in Lampasas County, managed by viticulturist and winemaker Penny Adams. It is a Rioja style wine, made with a blend of 81 percent Tempranillo, 18 percent Garnacha, and a touch of Viognier, that is barrel aged in neutral French oak for 14 months. A rich and aromatic wine, the Tempranillo Reserva has full cherry, cedar and tobacco box, scents, tart black cherry flavors, vibrant acidity, soft tannins and a lingering finish. This wine pairs incredibly well with Texas BBQ.

“TEXSOM IWA has emerged as one of the most influential wine competitions in the world,” says Penny Adams, winemaker. “Any medal received at TEXSOM IWA is a high accomplishment. We’re incredibly honored to have our wines recognized among some of the best wine made in the world. This is a resounding confirmation that wine made in Texas is made with the utmost quality.”

The TEXSOM International Wine Awards is the preeminent wine competition in the United States. The Journal of Wine Economics recently recognized TEXSOM IWA as the most selective wine competition in the U.S. and praised it for the competition’s ability to differentiate quality. The recognition was based on the high level of its judges, their broad experience and global perspective, which leads to a more selective, and more meaningful, medal distribution. The 2018 TEXSOM IWA evaluated more than 3,600 entries in a blind tasting conducted by a panel of 64 judges that included industry leaders, Master Sommeliers and Masters of Wine judges.